State must defend its right over O&G resources — Bukit Assek rep
SIBU: Bukit Assek assemblywoman Irene Chang said the state government must defend its right over the state’s oil and gas resources, noting the state government had been giving people false hope that it was already resolving the matter.
In a press statement yesterday, Irene said the state government had declared the Petroleum Development Act 1974 and the Territorial Sea Act 2012 null and void, and set up Petroleum Sarawak ( Petros) and the Development Bank of Sarawak ( DBoS).
“DAP Sarawak has reiterated many times that in the interest of the people, this issue has to be settled in a court of law. But, our calls have fallen on deaf ears.
“Be that as it may, now that Petronas has commenced the court action, it is the perfect opportunity for the state government to prove that it has not been making blind assertions in saying that despite the above two legislations, the ownership of our oil and gas resources still belongs to the state.”
She said it was also time for the state government to reveal what were the declassified documents which they had purportedly retrieved from their London trip last year and which were supposed to support their claim that the Petroleum Development Act and Territorial Sea Act were null and void.
“If all these evidences are intact and sufficient, then the state government should have nothing to fear from Petronas court action.”
She said though the court action instituted by Petronas may be disconcerting to Sarawak, it may also be viewed positively as the state is now compelled to take relevant action and to set in motion, the right steps to reinforce Sarawak’s claim over its oil and gas resources.
She said this would definitely be better than the BN state government continuing to bury its head in the sand by unilaterally declaring that the state has ownership “without the clout to go with the claim”.
“Now, for the sake of the people of Sarawak, we hope to see our state government getting it right this time.”
But even so, she assured that even if Petronas successfully wins the case against the state government, Sarawak PH is fully committed to ensure that its manifesto concerning the demand for 20 per cent royalty from Petronas is fulfilled.